Ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus of heavy ordnance.



A. T. DAWSON & J. HORNE. NG AND LOADING APPARATUS OF HEAVY ORDNANCE.

Patented June 27, 1916.

AMMUNITION HOISTI APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. 19M.

run COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH (20.. WASHINGTON, n. C.

DNTTED PATENT FFTDE.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAVISON, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, AND JAMES HORNE, 0F

BAEROW-IN-FURNESS, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS T0 VICKEBS LIIVIITED, OF WEST-MINSTER, ENGLAND.

AlVIlVIUNITION I-IOIST'ING AND LOADING APPARATUS OF HEAVY' ORDNANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed December 31, 19-12, Serial No. 735,438.Divided and this application filed March To all whom it may concern Beit known that we, ARTHUR Tnnvon Dawson, knight, and JAMES HORNE, bothsubjects of the King of Great Britain, residing, respectively, atVickers House, Broadway, \Vestminster, in the county of London, England,and Naval Construction Works, l3arrow-in-Furness, in the county ofLancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAmmunition Hoisting and Loading Apparatus of Heavy Ordnance, of whichthe following a specification.

' This invention relates to ammunition hoisting and loading apparatus ofthe kind in whici the powder char es and the projectile are raised inlower cages from the magazines to a working chamber, wherein the saidpowder charges and projectiles are transferred from the lower cages tointermediate or waiting receivers and thence to the upper or gun loadingcage by which they are carried to the breech of the gun.

The chief object of the present invention is to provide improvements inthe mechanism constituting hoisting and loading apparatus of the abovestated kind.

According to this invention, in order to obviate the necessity ofproviding a long bridge for the projectile during its transference fromthe cage to the receiver, the powder and projectile cages are carried onsegarate rail-s (but not in separate compartments) in the trunk and thepowder cage rails are deflected inward relatively to the projectile cagerails in order to bring the projectile ea-ge into close proximity to thetray of the waiting receiver.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect we will describe the same more fully with referenceto the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a view showing aconstructional form of the hoisting and loading apparatus, and 2 is asection taken approximately on the line at, a of Fig. 1.

'A is the working chamber that moves with the turret during training, 13is the gun loading cage that conveys the ammunition from the workingchamber to the gun,

Serial No. 826,860.

13 is the movable powder holder and B the projectile tray of the saidcage.

C is the rotary trunk and D is the powder room from which the powdercharges are loaded by means of the trays (Z into the powder cage D.

E is the projectile cage that is loaded by means of the bogie c from theprojectile room E.

D and E represent the powder charge receiver and the projectile receiverin the working chamber.

In the constructional form of the invention shown the rails 0, 0 for thecages D, E respectively are arranged parallel to one another for acertain distance above the floor of the projectile room. Above thispoint the rails 0 remain parallel to each other while the rails c areinclined toward each other and meet at a point above the highestposition that the cages D assume. In this manner after the cages D, Eascend above the level of the powder room D, the cage E moves parallelto the axis of the truck and the cage D moves toward the said axis. Bythese means it ispossible to reduce the distance through which theprojectile moves during its transference from the cage E to the receiverE. The relative lateral movement that takes place between the cages D,E, during their ascent is utilized for locking them together. For thispurpose a bolt 6 is, in the example shown, attached to the-top of thecage E, and this bolt is adapted to engage in a vertical groove in theunderside of the cage D as soon as the cage E reaches the cage D. Thesaid vertical groove terminates in a horizontal groove d with which thebolt 62X engages during the aforesaid lateral movement that takes placebetween the cages. The cages are in this manner compelled to descendtogether until the cage D reaches the magazine floor, whereupon the bolt62X comes opposite the aforesaid vertical groove and the cage E isreleased to permit it to be lowered to the projectile room E.

hat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis 1. In ammunition hoisting apparatus, the

combination with the lower powder charge and projectile cages, and therotary trunk, of vertical rails for the projectile cage and rails forthe powder charge cage, the upper ends of the latter rails beingdeflected inwardly, so that when the powder charge cage is in itsuppermost position, it is situated nearer the axis of the trunk than isthe projectile cage.

2. In ammunition hoisting apparatus, the combination with the lower powler charge and projectile cages, and the rotary trunk, of vertical railsfor the projectile cage, inwardly deflected rails for the powder chargecage, and means for causing the lateral 'movement between the two cagesto effect the locking of one cage to the other.

3. In ammunition hoisting apparatus, the combination with the lowerpowder charge and projectile cages, and the rotary trunk of verticalrails for the projectile cage, inwardly deflected rails for the powdercharge cage, and a pin on the projectile cage adapted to engage in ahorizontal slot in the under side of the powder charge cage.

4. In ammunition hoisting apparatus, the combination of a powder chargereceiver, a projectile receiver located to the outer side of the powdercharge receiver, lower projectile and powder charge cages, verticalrails for the projectile cage to bring the same to the inner side of theprojectile re ceiver, and rails for the powder charge cage having theirupper ends deflected inwardly to bring the powder charge cage to theinner side of the powder charge receiver.

' In testimony whereof we afii'x'our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAXVSON. JAMES HORN E.

lVitnesses nNnY Kine, Jno. R. CAswnLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C.

